Ab Zohr
by DaphneOshiro
Summary: Pantea was far less battle-hardened than her namesake when she had to flee her home, and yet she managed to become the hero of the Capital Wasteland. Hopelessly searching for her father, she ended up affecting the course of history for the denizens of the United States. Rated M for violence, sex, drug use, and various expletives.
1. Chupacabras

_**A/N: So, with Fallout 4 just around the corner, I have a lot of Fallout related energy built up, and I wanted to write a fanfic around my Fallout 3 character, Pantea, something to calm me down while I wait for Fallout 4. Please note that I have no ties with Bethesda or anything like that.**_

 _ **A lot of the inspiration for this story comes from Wasteland Sherriff, a now defunct Fallout fanfic which is worth a read, even though it's incomplete. The story will be overall rated M (to be on the safe side), but individual chapters (such as this one) will be significantly tamer on adult themes and violence than others (this is K+ to T depending on how badly you consider the violence). Just a general stipulation, sex, violence and expletives have prominence in these stories (especially violence), so if you don't like that sort of thing, well, you've been forewarned.**_

 _ **Final thing, if you have suggestions, I may take them on board. I do appreciate input from readers and if I see something I like, I will use it. With all that said, let's get down to brass tacks: the story starts a few hours after the start of the game (i.e. when you're born), and Knight Medic Willy Harper has been unable to save Catherine from her heart attack and haemorrhaging. Uplifting opening, I know.**_

'Patient deceased, severe cardiac arrest and internal bleeding due to complications from childbirth. Time 0543, 13th July 2258. This is Knight Medic Harper of the District of Columbia's Brotherhood of Steel, signing off. Well, who's going to deliver the bad news?'

'I will deliver it ma'am. As a highly sophisticated robotic doctor, unconcerned with trivial emotions that you humans suffer from, I would be the perfect person to candidly tell Mr. Burton that his wife has perished due to his overactive loins.'

'Uh…thanks for the offer Sawbones, but I think a little human nuance may be more…useful here. I'll tell James, you and Roger clean up in here.'

'Of course ma'am! Come on, you pansy nurse, get cleaning!'

'Sawbones, you can't speak to humans like that. We're your masters!'

'You are a Senior Squire, I am a Journeyman Doctor, and thus I outrank you. Now clean, subordinate! And salute me while you're at it!'

'Why I should-' Roger caught Harper's shaking head. He grunted 'Yes, sir,' and threw a salute up to the Mr. Gusty, who passed him a mop with his steel pincers. Harper walked out of the operating theatre and headed to the mainframe of the facility, where she found a haggard, hunched and puffy eyed man with a lab coat on his body and a baby in his arms. He was staring at the massive computer in the room with his back to the door, completely still while the child writhed in his arms for attention. Harper knocked on the wall with her bloodied hands and he turned to face her, with a resigned expression on his face.

'Wilhelmina…you're back. Is Catherine…is she?'

'I'm sorry James, we couldn't save her. The stress of the labour brought about a heart attack, and the childbirth itself made a severe haemorrhage. By the time we found out about the haemorrhage, she'd lost so much blood that all we could do was relieve her pain. So we gave her twelve doses of Med-X.'

'Did she…say anything before?'

'She was out cold for most of it, she woke up briefly while under the Med-X, but not properly.'

'I guess I already knew. It's just…well it's just not how I expected things to pan out.' She came forward and put her arm around James. The baby reached up to touch her, and she lowered herself so that the baby could grasp her bald head.'

'She's beautiful. Takes after you,' she said.

'Thank you.'

'What's her name?'

'Pantea.'

'Really? That's an interesting name,'

'She was a Persian general under Cyrus the Great's army, one of the finest strategists who had ever lived. She orchestrated the invasion of Babylon in 539 B.C. and handled the emancipation and resettlement of the Hebrew exiles…it was Catherine's idea, she wanted to scrabble at her Persian roots, which are hard to keep considering where we are in the world.'

'Well, Pantea is a beautiful name for a beautiful little girl. Can I hold her?'

'Of course, here you go.' James handed Pantea to her. She had dark, Iranian skin, and big blue eyes which pierced the places that she looked. Her face was round and fat, and her mouth was marked with dried saliva.

'Hello there little Pantea, I'm your aunt Willy. How are you today?' she said in a baby voice. 'Your daddy is a very important man, he's going to make everyone have clean water. That's a very important job, yes it is, yes it is!'

'Yes…the project. We need to finish the project. After we…we bury Catherine, we should do a whole rewiring of the internals, and reprogramme the computer systems in the Rotunda. That way, we may be able to identify where we are going wrong.'

'Well, if you need help, I may be able to rope in a few trainee scribes, they'd be very happy to do something practical. Rothchild just has them-' Harper was cut off by the Jefferson Memorial fire alarms and Knight Sergeant Cross' voice over the intercom.

'Contact, contact. Super Mutant raiding party incoming. All Brotherhood soldiers prepare to engage.'

'Well, that's me. I'll be back in a moment James,' said Harper. She handed Pantea back to him and headed to the gift shop, where her light recon armour and laser pistol were stored. Cross was already there, inserting a microfusion cell into her T-45d.

'Good, you're here, how's Catherine?' she asked. Harper just shook her head.

'Oh…well, at least the baby is healthy.'

'As healthy as a motherless child can be. What are we looking at?'

'About ten muties, they seem relatively fresh faced. Led by one of those ones in the metal armour, with a minigun.'

'Seems fairly simple. Why are we calling everyone up here?'

'Well, they have grenades and missile launchers again, we think they might be here to take out the pipes outside, and we can do without that happening again.'

'Do you have a spare energy cell or two?'

'Here,' she handed three of the small packs to her, 'They're bulk ammo I'm afraid, won't be nice to your reflectors.

'Rather have a broken pistol than a living mutant,' responded Harper, loading one of the packs into the receptor. The pistol bleeped and the wiring glowed a weak, flickering yellow. 'There, thirty shots. That will be enough. I'm ready when you are.' Cross clambered into her power armour and grabbed her laser rifle from the ground. She then led Harper through the hallway and out of the main door of the memorial, where they were greeted by a few Brotherhood soldiers firing upon a contingent of board wielding Super Mutants. The minigun wielding leader had hit one initiate in the leg, who had subsequently crawled behind some sandbags. They were spouting some violent nonsense about bone-breaking and skull crushing the 'metal men', in a typically Super Mutant style. Harper and Cross opened fire on the mutants, making short work of the lower ranked ones with nail boards.

After a brief firefight, all that stood was the minigun mutant, who had lost his left leg below the knee due to laser fire. He stopped firing for a brief moment and started begging for mercy.

'Please! Take me as your prisoner. Use me for research, torture, I don't care, just don't kill me!' Cross looked across at Harper, sharing faces of bewilderment.

'What do we do?'

'I don't know, this has never happened before. Never has a super mutant surrendered.'

'Maybe we should call Lyons.'

'Should we take the risk? If we kill it, there's no love lost, if we save it under Lyons' orders and it tries to kill us later, we'll get more injuries.'

'Maybe Lyons won't have it saved…'

'Come on Willy, we've saved every raider, slaver and child rapist from here to Chicago after they laid down their guns, and now we get a super mutant who has voluntarily laid down his arms, a member of a group who has been waging war since we got here, and you think Owen Lyons will happily sit here and say "Shoot him, he could be mildly dangerous"?'

'Fair enough. We should still call him, this is too rare a find to just kill.'

'Fine, I'll call him now.' Cross turned on her helmet radio and contacted the Citadel. 'Glendower, Glendower, this is Patriot 0-1, do you read? Over.'

'Patriot 0-1, this is Glendower, we read you loud and clear, go ahead Cross. Over.'

'Elder, we were engaged by a contingent of super mutants on the bridge to the memorial. We held them off with minimal casualties, but their leader, after his leg was torn off by a laser, dropped his gun and begged, and is currently begging, for mercy. He wants us to take him as our prisoner, over.'

'Really? Are you sure? Over.'

'That's what he's saying. How should we proceed? Over.'

'That's…wonderful news! Bind his hands and bring him back to the Citadel immediately. Out.'

'Understood, out. Dammit. Willy, you bring him in. Everyone else, keep your sights trained on that thing.'

Willy readied a length of rope and put down her pistol. As she walked forward past the defences, she heard the big stone door of the Jefferson Memorial swing open.

'Oh hey James. What'cha doing out here?'

'I heard the shooting, I wanted to make sure that everyone was okay.'

'Well, apart from a few minor wounds, we're all fine, actually, something really crazy just happened. A super mutant surrendered, completely. After he lost his leg, he begged for us to take him as our prisoner. He's just over there on the bridge.'

'That's…odd. What are you going to do with him?'

'Take him back to the Citadel and process him, I guess. To be honest, we never had planned for something like this…we never thought they had even the intelligence to surrender, let alone the regard for life. This could be a turning point.'

'I hope so. The mutant attacks are so frequent and debilitating…we won't be able to get this project running if they continue. Is there any way I can help?'

'Thanks but we'll be okay, James. I'll go cuff him and then I'll meet you inside, I want to get to know that baby a bit more.'

'Alright, I'll see you in five.' James turned to the stone entrance to the memorial, while Harper jogged past the sandbags to the kneeling super mutant, and pulled his arms behind his back.

'You, my friend, are going to make my boss very happy,' she said, as she tied the rope around his wrists.

'As are you, human,' responded the mutant, with an evil smile planted on his yellow face. Just then, with his one good leg, he turned and tripped Harper to the ground. She landed flat on her back. Before she or any of the other Brotherhood soldiers could react, the mutant pulled out a sawn-off shotgun and blasted each of Harper's knees. She went numb as the Brotherhood opened fire on the mutant, tearing his head off with laser fire. When his head fell unceremoniously onto the floor, the pain suddenly revealed itself to her. A blood curdling scream came from her mouth, and she scrabbled at the ground desperately trying to drag herself back across the bridge. Just then, a second attack wave of much more senior super mutants leapt from their hiding places and rushed across the bridge to the memorial. Their leader, with remarkable agility, bearing a Type 93 Chinese Assault Rifle, did a forward roll to where Harper was lying, and fired off three volleys of shots at the sand bags. He grabbed her by her chest, and called out to his supporting soldiers.

'Focus missile attacks on the pipes, I'll keep these metal men busy.' He then threw Harper over his shoulder, and opened fire on the Brotherhood's position, hitting a few initiates in their poorly armoured heads. The others lifted their missile launchers and fired them all at the central pipe coming from the Memorial, which had already been saturated by small arms and missile fire in the days and weeks previous. These final few shots were enough to destroy the support beams holding the already rusting pipe up, and, after a magnificent screech from the collapsing supports, it fell into the irradiated pools of the Potomac, irritating some mirelurks who had been resting on the riverbed. The lead mutant then pulled a smoke grenade out and tossed it a few feet ahead of him.

'Let's get back to the Vault. We've got a new recruit.'

James had been watching all of this from behind the Brotherhood's defences, completely horrified. All he could do was watch as Willy screamed for help as the huge mutant commander walked away with her. Unable to contain himself, he ran forward and grabbed a dead initiate's laser rifle. Charging toward the smoke cloud, Cross grabbed him from behind and held him back.

'James, no! They'll kill you. Get back inside.'

'I can't lose her too. Not my wife and my best friend, not on the same day. I have to help!'

'James, if you walk into that smoke, you aren't walking out. What will your kid do then? Let her go, James. There's nothing you can do.' James struggled in her arms but eventually stopped and fell on his knees. He then completely broke down and wept violently. Cross squatted down close to him and held him close. The Brotherhood troops stopped firing: the smoke completely hid the super mutants. They had escaped unharmed.

* * *

'I am at a loss. My beloved wife is gone, my best friend a super mutant captive. In their place is my daughter, small and helpless. As much as this place means to me... As much as it meant to Catherine, this is no place for an infant. Especially an infant without her mother.'

'James?'

'Huh? Oh, hi Florence,' said James, shutting off the holotape. 'I was just…I don't know, recording a journal I guess. What's up?'

'You're leaving, then?'

'I…I can't stay here. Without Catherine and that destroyed water pipe, the project is dead anyway. And now I have a child to take care of, which I can't do here, we don't have the supplies.'

'You can't just leave, James. This project is going to save the wasteland, and without you it will fall apart.'

'I'm sorry Florence, my mind is made up. All this project has done is cause suffering. I can't stop thinking about Willy…what happened to her, she's probably suffering unimaginable pain, all defending my…my vanity project.'

'You called her Willy, you never called her that, no matter how much she asked. You know that she would've given her life to see the project become a reality. If she were here now, she'd tell you to carry on.'

'Even if I were to stay, we'd be done in a month. Only Catherine had the know-how to fix up this place. With all the damage and no skilled engineers, this project is a mere forgone conclusion. It's over Florence.' James wiped his eyes of fresh tears, and Cross came and hugged him.

'I respect your decision, and I'll help you get out of here and find a place to stay with your kid.'

'Thank you, Florence. I really appreciate it. Well, I better go tell the others.'

The whole of the Jefferson Memorial was in a state of shock and misery. Two of the brightest and most loved people in the project, Harper and Catherine, had died within minutes of each other, and though the new arrival was adored by much of the staff, the majority of people were fighting tears and almost catatonic in their sadness. What came next was almost the exclamation mark for the worst day ever. James called everyone to amass in the Project Purity control room. There, holding his infant in his arms, and with Cross at his side, he announced that he would be leaving the project as soon as he had found a place to stay. The congregation looked as if they had been hit by a train, after having been told they had terminal lung cancer and seen their son hang themselves. They were so shocked, they couldn't even say anything, but merely watch as James walked away, leaving his life's work behind in the dust.

 _ **And that's a wrap. Tell me watch you think, fav, review etc. etc., and if you have any length concerns please tell me, I never know the appropriate length for these sorts of things.**_


	2. Sanctuary

Ab Zohr 2 – Sanctuary

 _ **A/N: Right so this rendition is twice as long as 'Chupacabras', give or take. Hey, it's meatier, but there's more going on. I don't really have much else to say, so, get on with it. Oh and this chapter is rated T for a fairly violent fight. Enjoy!**_

'It's time to go. The project was in trouble before, both internally and externally. Progress has come to a halt, both because our re-calculations have gotten us nowhere, and because the mutant attacks occur several times a day. I regret it has come to this. I know that if I leave, our work may come to an end. Madison has never been on the best of terms with the Brotherhood; aside from Scribe Rothchild, she'll tolerate none of them. If she's the one dealing with them, who knows what will happen. It breaks my heart to go, but I must put the needs of my child before my own.' James shut off his holotape journal, and turned to the crib in the corner of the cold bedroom. He went over and looked at the sleeping beauty that lay before him.

'What are you dreaming of honey? After losing your mother, your aunt and then your dad losing his job, I can't imagine it can be the best dream. Then again, despite all that, you're sleeping more peacefully than a fat, happy gecko. Do babies dream of lambs?' James chuckled to himself. 'Where do you want to live, Pantea? We have the whole of the United States to play with…I here Boise is nice this time of year, what with the black rain from the Rockies. Or maybe Little Rock? Safe theocracy and all that. Arizona perhaps, if you're willing to learn Latin. Maybe I should go back home to the Boneyard. It'd be a hell of a trip…' He was cut off by a knocking at the door.

'Sorry to interrupt James, but I was thinking, we should probably start looking for a place for you to live.'

'We were just discussing that, Florence,' said James with a smile, the first he had had in these past few days of hell. 'I can't think of anywhere except maybe the NCR again, the other big population centres, Boston, Boise, Little Rock, even New Vegas, seem too hellish for a baby and a single father.'

'Well, how about a place in Virginia? A journey to Shady Sands or the Boneyard would be a very dangerous journey, especially between Illinois and Idaho, where if I recall correctly it's just raider tribes. And if you go via Dixie, well, you'll be clobbered by the Hukabians to the east of Texas and Legion to the west. As for the East Coast, you've got New York, the Commonwealth and maybe Delaware, but they're not likely to be much better than D.C., especially if you avoid the city itself. But, I've been tossing an idea around for something a lot safer, easier and close by. How would you feel about moving to a vault?'

'A vault? Florence, while I appreciate your help, is that not a bit…far-fetched? You came from California, you saw some of the vaults from across the states. Vault 5, Vault 80, Vault 106, right here in Virginia. They're in ruins. Even the successful vaults back west have stopped being used, Vault 13 for example. What Vault is even still functioning, let alone open for new tenants? If they had even an inkling of what happened to some of the vaults, they'd quite rightly lock their doors tight.'

'You'd think that, and I did too, until I checked the Citadel's Vault computer a while back. We found that a few vaults in this region were still drawing power. We haven't had time to check up on them due to the super mutant raids, but a thought came to me. The way that Vault-Tec had everything set up was that in the likely event that Vaults became unable to contact each other through their personal communications, each Vault would be able to send messages to each pre-war commonwealth's Vault-Tec Headquarters. The staff there would then relay the message to the other vaults. So say if 106 needed to tell 92 that one of its residents was supposed to be in 92, then the HQ would relay the message and then 92 could send a runner to pick them up.

'Okay, what does this have to do with me?'

'If we travel to Vault Tec's Columbia HQ, we can send a message to all the vaults still using power, 101, 112 and 87, and when their overseers respond we can arrange to have them house you.'

'That's a very good plan Florence, but there are two problems. Firstly, what do I have to offer them for mine and my daughter's entry? Food must be relatively scarce, as would be space, no doubt they're suffering major overpopulation problems. Secondly, what if Vault-Tec HQ is flattened? Or what if we get in there and everything has been pillaged?'

'Don't worry about that, the site of the HQ is quite intact according to Brotherhood scouts, and with my electronics training, we'll be able to jury rig a radio signal if absolutely necessary. And come on, James, you're one of the finest doctors I know, someone with your medical expertise would be invaluable, and your experience outside means that you could easily pass some knowledge on about radiation and general survival should they ever dare to leave the vault.'

'It seems risky…what if it's infested with super mutants, or security?'

'Come on, with me at your side? You'll be fine. I'll give you ten minutes to get ready, and then we'll leave for the subway.'

* * *

After a two hour walk (give or take, they were stopped by a few ghouls and raiders in the tunnels), Knight Sergeant Cross and James reached the HQ building, which was in a state of relative perfection considering the smouldering craters of the White House and other buildings. Sneaking past a couple of super mutant guards, they entered the building from what appeared to be a side entrance. To their right was a reception desk, and a back wall where a huge '101' vault door hung. The inside of the building was again a relative paradise, but still a few doors had fallen down, and there were scenes of a struggle. Perhaps most worryingly were the two nets of bloodied and mutilated body parts hanging over the desk. They more than made themselves present with their smell, which so often defined D.C. at this time of year.

'Well, all the tell-tale signs of muties are here,' said Cross through her helmet, 'bullet holes in the wales, gore bags, smashed doors and a few dead centaurs. But where are the muties?' Her question was answered by a few gunshots and then a maniacal yell from one of the upper levels. Cross quickly hid herself and James behind a pillar and looked to see a reversing a burning super mutant madly firing his rifle in front of him. He eventually backed on to the stairs hand rail, and then a crazed Mr. Handy, presumably the one he had been shooting at, lunged forward and sliced the mutant's chest apart with its buzzsaw. Cross motioned to James to stay hidden, and then she pulled out a pulse grenade, which she tossed at the now calm robot. It smashed its sensor momentarily, which caused it to ready its weapons once again, but then the grenade wrapped it in a blanket of electromagnetic death. The blast was powerful enough to tear off one of its sensors. It muttered a very relaxed 'That's it then,' as it crashed to the ground, completely deactivated.

'Alright, now then.' She pulled out her Black Hat PDA, Britain's smaller, more powerful and more practical (but much more expensive) answer to the Pip-Boy. The US military at Mariposa had taken an order of 3,000 before the war, hence why some high level Brotherhood of Steel members had access to them. 'According to Vault-Tec infrastructure systems, to gain access to the mainframe we need to gain approval from three security terminals in the admin section.'

'Seems a bit Super Mario, why can't we just hack the mainframe itself?'

'Well, that's what people used to do, but Vault-Tec got a bit pissed off with their mainframe being hacked all the time, so they've rerouted the mainframe security to three individual terminals, and general robotic security is being controlled by a unit known as the 'Masterbrain,', which I can only assume is another terminal.

'Okay, so what's our next move?'

'We can get to the administration via the corporate offices. I'll take point,' she responded, and affixed the torch on her helmet.

'Lead the way, Florence,' said James, readying his revolver.

The offices were dingy and more destroyed than the entrance, though thankfully free of robotic security; they were all in their charging pods, presumably awaiting orders. Using the Black Hat's downloaded minimap, they found the entrance to the admin level a few floors up.

The administration section was an Apple store in a world of cavemen: apart from a few side rooms, the section was dominated by an absolutely colossal computer, with a processing power of roughly 100 GB (a Pip-Boy 3000 managed two, the Black Hat three). It was charged through solar generators throughout the facility, hence why it had remained operational for the last 200 years. The access point for the mainframe was on a raised platform, where many wires led down into side power boxes and command and control screens. In front of that access point was a large robobrain with 'Vault-Tec' emblazoned on its chest. Cross found the terminal points on her Black Hat by detecting power outputs in the room.

'Alright, the terminals are here, here and here. You get these two, I'll get this one and we'll meet at the mainframe.' Cross headed to the terminal closest to the mainframe and turned it on. It whirred and displayed the various terminal start-up texts. Cross accessed the computer files and found some messages about various security updates and employee vandalism. At the bottom she found the approval tag, which she activated. The computer reloaded its screen to show access to the mainframe had been approved. 'Great,' she muttered 'James! I'm done!'

'Alright Florence! I'm nearly done, I'll be one minute!' Cross jogged to the mainframe computer. While she was waiting, she examined the robobrain in front of the computer. In its metal torso was a small holotape insertion point. Cross put her hand on the metal shell and all of a sudden, the robot's brain shell lit up and that sultry voice came from the speakers;

'VTMB01 Masterbrain activated. Scanning for orders…no orders holotape present, please insert orders holotape, honey.'

'So the Masterbrain is a robot? Why would you put all the security into one robot? God, the old world was advanced but it sure was primitive.'

'Florence, I got the two terminals…what's this?'

'I am VTMB01 Masterbrain, servant of Vault-Tec Headquarters Columbia, sugar. Please insert orders holotape to access higher functions.'

'Ah, so this controls the security. How come it doesn't have its orders with it?' James asked as he stepped forward. He then heard a crack below him. Looking down, he saw his foot in a skull, which itself was connected to the skeletal remains of a Vault-Tec employee crushed by a slab of ceiling tile. In their bony hand was a holotape labelled 'Masterbrain Security'.

'Must've been about to turn on the security when the bombs fell, and the ceiling collapsed before they could get to it.'

'Well not worth worrying about it now, let's get on the terminal,' said James. He shook the bone from his shoe and activated the computer. A more robotic and sexless voice came from the shell.

'Vault-Tec Headquarters Columbia Mainframe at your service. Please select one of the following services. One: Contact Vault-Tec Headquarters in other Commonwealth territories. Two: Contact international Vault-Tec Headquarters. Three: Contact Vault-Tec installations within the Columbia Commonwealth. Four: Modify system settings of Vault-Tec Headquarters Columbia. Please say 'Repeat' to have a repeat of the services. Please say 'Terminate' to cancel conversation.'

'Voice control, eh? Okay, Three.'

'Contact Vault-Tec installations within the Columbia Commonwealth. Please select one of the following services-'

'Jesus this is a bit long drawn…'

'Please do not interrupt. Please select one of the following services. One: Contact Vault-Tec Vaults in the area. Two: Contact Vault-Tec Promotional Installations. Please say 'Back' to return to the main menu.

'This machine has attitude,' chuckled Cross, who was examining the security holotape.

'One.'

'Checking to see Vault-Tec Vaults which will receive messages…Vault 101, and Vault 87. Please select a vault you wish to contact, or say 'All' to send a message to all available vaults.

'All.'

'Please record your video message. This will be transmitted, and if received will be responded to with a video call on this device. When you are ready to begin recording, please say 'Record'. Make sure that your face is visible to the video camera above the screen when you make your message, and that you annunciate clearly. When you have finished, say 'End'.'

'Okay, this is it. You ready James?'

'Yeah, okay,' James responded. He straightened up to the camera and cleared his throat. 'Record.' The machine started flashing a red light to indicate the beginning of the recording, and James spoke.

'Any and all vaults, please come in. My name is James Burton and I am contacting you from the Vault-Tec Headquarters in Washington D.C.. My wife, tragically, perished due to complications of childbirth, leaving me with my beautiful daughter, Pantea. We desperately need a new home, for our old one is under siege from super mutant attacks. I am a very skilled doctor and have ample knowledge about the wasteland that I would be more than happy to share with you. Please accept us into your vault, for we have nowhere else to turn. Thank you. End.'

'Message recorded successfully. Sending message to target destinations, have a nice day.'

'And now we wait. What should we do in-'

'Receiving video call from Vault 101, repeat, receiving message from Vault 101. Please say 'Answer' to respond, or 'Fuck off' to terminate call.'

'Who programmed this thing? Answer.'

'Hello James, this is Alphonse Almodovar, newly elected Overseer to Vault 101. It's a pleasure to meet you.'

'The pleasure is all mine, really.'

'Now, the reason I make a note of the fact that I am 'newly' elected, is due to the fact that our last Overseer, Christopher Wright, went missing very recently. You see, we have for a while kept the Vault largely open and free for trade with neighbouring cities, the prime example being Megaton, a town just down the road. And while this does have its benefits, it also has its problems, such as when Chris managed to get himself killed, or probably killed anyway. It also doesn't help that he was our only doctor. Thankfully it hasn't been long, nor have there been any injuries, but we're going to have to start relying on our robots for medical needs, which we can do without. You say that you are 'very skilled', how so?'

'Well I have a doctorate from the Razlo School of Medicine from UCB, I-'

'What? You…you went to university? You have credentials?'

'Yes. Is that a problem?'

'No it's just…I didn't know that they still existed! UCB?'

'University College Boneyard…it was the old UCLA but 'LA' is now the Boneyard.'

'You came all the way from California? It must be terrible there if you came here…'

'Actually, it's wonderful. It's a proper nation now, with a government and infrastructure and everything. We left to find solutions to future famine potentials, but the last famine in the NCR was…2228 I think.'

'NCR? Actually, don't tell me, you can regale me with tales of the west when we meet. You're certainly qualified, no doubt in theory and practical. How about we meet at Springvale? It's an old wreck of a town just outside the vault. You're Brotherhood friend should know where it is. Can you make it for tomorrow, noon?'

'Um…yes, we'll get right on it. Thank you so much Mr. Almodovar.'

'Goodbye, then. Oh and, before you go, are there any other working vaults in this area?'

'The Brotherhood's vault computer says Vault 87 and Vault 112 are still using a lot of power, but we aren't getting any response from 87, and Vault 112 wouldn't even register on the mainframe when we sent a message.'

'Ah…okay, well I will see you shortly.' Almodovar waved at the camera and the feed cut off.

'Terminate,' James said to the mainframe.

'Thank you for your service. Have a nice day.'

'Oh my God! Florence I…I can't thank you enough.'

'Don't get emotional on me now. Well done James. Now let's get out of here.'

'Please insert orders holotape, honey.'

'I'm gonna shut this thing up,' said Cross, who jammed the holotape into the drive.

'Scanning orders holotape. Orders: Due to nuclear exchange, any and all unknown trespassers in Vault-Tec facilities will be treated as Red Chinese spies. Please present your Vault-Tec ID.

'You couldn't have just left it? Run!' shouted James. As they sprinted to the door, they heard that sultry voice;

'I'm sorry sugar, no valid ID detected. The Administration level is off-limits to non-essential personnel and Red Chinese spies. Prime directive: protect Vault-Tec data.' The machine started moving on its tank tracks and firing lasers in their direction. They managed to escape through the door into the offices, only to find the whole of Vault-Tec's robotic security force armed and angry. Sentry Bots, Mr. Gutsys, protectrons and robobrains all amassed and around the fleeing pair. Thankfully their two-hundred year sleep had left their targeting abilities somewhat hampered, so the two managed to escape the building with no injuries, but not before a stray plasma bolt melted the front of Cross' power helmet. Running like scattered gerbils, they made for the metro, to be hidden away in darkness.

'We did it,' James panted, 'We found a home.'

* * *

The dingy, rusted out halls of the vault echoed of times passed, but their new purpose of housing their super mutant masters was done well by them. Here, hidden from the outside world, and with ample food and water supplies from the past, the super mutants could survive and thrive, plus with the gallons of FEV they had, and the nice deal they had with the Lamplight kids (they allowed free access for mutants with human captives [they can't take them the normal way through the front door, the radiation is too strong] and the mutants don't take them and put them in the 'green stuff'), a more perfect sanctuary for a super mutant there was not. And today, Vault 87's walls welcomed a new victim. Dragged along the ground by two lackey super mutants, she was taken to the old Overseer's office, which served as the new Base of Operations for the super mutant army. This is little more than a figurative name, even though the super mutant commanders weren't terribly stupid, their grunts were too dumb to follow orders beyond 'kill', which meant any plan beyond 'kill all humans' was an impossible one for their efforts to conquer Virginia. They were led by the self-styled 'Patriarch' (or, since the grunts were too stupid to say patriarch, 'Green Boss') Mos, a big, dark green super mutant who used a Gatling laser for battle, and also wore some scavenged, but oddly clean and well-conditioned, power armour for key parts of his body, joined with leather straps. He was examining a map of the D.C. metro when the mutants brought their prisoner in.

'Set her down in the Overseer's chair.'

'Uh…the what?'

'The chair facing the terminal.'

'Wha-'

'For fuck's sake, drop her and get out of here!'

'Yes, Green Boss,' the grunts responded, dropping the girl on the floor. She cried out in pain as they ran off.

'And how many times do I have to say, don't call me that!' he yelled. He then turned to face the girl. 'Wilhelmina Harper, Knight Medic of the Brotherhood of Steel. It really is a pleasure. If you would, take a seat by the terminal.'

'I…I can't,' she said, pointing to her knees.

'Those brutes. What did they do to you?'

'That decoy who faked a surrender, well, he kneecapped me.'

'Would you like him eviscerated?'

'He's dead already.'

'Ah…good,' he said, and then walked over to her, picked her up and placed her in the chair. He turned on the restraints. He then got his face very close to hers and smiled an evil smile.

'I believe introductions are in order. I am Mos, Patriarch of the East Coast Super Mutant clan. We have no affiliation with those mutants in that pitiful place you call a nation, what, 'NCR', out west. As you may know we represent something more primal, more simple. We do not want to co-exist as many western mutants do, we want to eradicate.'

'So why capture me, what purpose can I serve to you? Why not just execute me?'

'You mean, you don't know how we…reproduce? Wow, you were less of a threat than I thought, your Brotherhood,' he snarled. He backed off for a moment and went on the intercom. 'Master Jud and Dog Kurt, get in here.'

'What are you doing?' Harper asked.

'Master Jud is the one who led the strike team to capture you today, and Dog Kurt is one of our newest recruits. I'll need both of them to better explain a point I would like to make to you,' a buzz at the door attracted his attention. 'Come in,'

'You called to see us, Patriarch.'

'Yes I did, shut the door behind you. Jud, you led today's strike team, correct?'

'Yes, Patriarch.'

'And I recognize that not only did you manage to complete your main objective of capturing Ms. Harper, you also destroyed the piping to that damn purity project. Well done, Jud well done.'

'Thank you, Patriarch.'

'However, and with the utmost respect I say this, is it true that your agent you sent to attract Ms. Harper forward, did _that_ ,' he pointed at her mangled kneecaps and thighs, 'to her even after my explicit orders that she should not be harmed?'

'Well, yes, but I swiftly executed him for his transgression Patriarch.'

'That's not true. He was killed by the Brotherhood, he had his head torn off by laser fire.'

'So, first you fail me, then you lie to me? Jud, Jud, Jud, that is disappointing to say the least. Now, what do you have to say for yourself?'

'Well I-'

'IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY. I am the Patriarch, and I say you are a failure to the clan.'

'Yes Patriarch, I am very sorry.'

'Sorry isn't good enough. Agni Kai, with Kurt, now.'

'But, Patriarch-'

'You can either face him unarmed or you can face me, while I use a Gatling laser. I suggest Kurt, for your sake.'

'Yes, Patriarch.'

The two subordinate super mutants met in the middle of the room, and bound hands momentarily. They then turned and walked to their edge of the room. Not facing each other, they disrobed their chest garments and turned to face each other. Mos spoke up;

'An Agni Kai is a duel to prove someone's honour. It comes from an old cartoon series I found in the bowels of the vault's mainframe. It's been adapted somewhat to work in the real world, but the principle remains the same. These two will fight, the one who wins takes the others' now vacant role, unless of course they're fighting someone beneath them, in which case they keep their position. Alright you two, get to it.'

Kurt charged Jud and tackled him to the ground. Before he could even recover from the surprise, Kurt went for his throat and savaged it with his huge mouth, while gouging Jud's eyes out with his hands. The fight was over in seconds, and with Jud's mutilated face and blood gushing from his jugular it was pretty clear that Kurt won. Harper watched from her seat agape and terrified

'Congratulations Master Kurt, now, you're first job is to take Jud here to the incinerator.'

'Yes Patriarch,' he saluted. Mos now turned to Harper,

'As you can see, Willy, I run a tight, efficient ship, and-' He was cut off by an electronic buzzing from the machine behind Harper, the Overseer's terminal. After a moment of start-up, the computer spouted;

'Attention, attention. Receiving a video recording from Vault-Tec Headquarters Columbia. Playing now…Any and all vaults, please come in. My name is James Burton and I am contacting you from the Vault-Tec Headquarters…' Harper whirled around at the sound of James' voice, and starting weeping and screaming for him when she saw his face.

'James! James! Can you hear me? It's me Willy! I'm trap-'

'I don't think so missy!' said Mos, clasping his hand around her mouth. She desperately reached for the respond button on the terminal interface but Mos held her so tightly she was unable to move.

'We wouldn't want your friends to break up this little thing we have. Kurt.' He motioned to the screen. Kurt nodded and pulled out a sledgehammer. He walked over to the interface and smashed it to pieces, cutting of the signal. Harper wailed pitifully, and Mos uncovered her mouth and look right in her eyes.

'You will know suffering beyond your darkest fears. I have plans for you, human.'

 _ **A/N: Well, that was sad :P. Tune in next time kids. Message me etc. for questions.**_


	3. The Interview

Ab Zohr 3 – The Interview

 _ **A/N: Long overdue hola amigos, sorry about that. GCSE results were this week and I've been dealing with them. I'm happy with the results, but I had re-marks and consoling people who messed up, so yeah, hence the week or so delay. 'Tis unlikely anything similar will happen again anytime soon, so do not fret.**_

 _ **So, James has to meet Alphonse today and make his case to enter the vault, meaning he has to venture from D.C. to outer Virginia. What could possibly go wrong?**_

One year, three months, eight days. That was how long the project had lasted, from laying that first set of pipes to Catherine's death. This had become part of James' life in the East. He had left California at the age of 30 with his fiancée to change the world. Now, at 33, she was gone, his change finished, and all that was left was his little girl. It was a sombre day to say the least. James had completely packed all his belongings, a lab coat, a .32 calibre revolver, some medicines, a few hundred caps, some old weapon schematics which he had never had the time to assemble, and a few unrecorded holotapes. Not exactly the mark of a successful scientist, he thought to himself. He zipped his travel bag and went over to the crib to pick up Pantea, when he heard a cleared throat at the door.

'What do you think you're doing?'

'Madison…'

'You can't leave, not now, we've got so much to do with the project. We need a whole new mainframe system, we need to rewire all the internals, we need a new fucking pipe for outside…you can't just up and leave me, James!'

'Madison, I'm sorry, but I can't stay here, not with Pantea. This is no place for a child.'

'What use is it leaving? You'll die out there in the wasteland, especially without clean water.'

'We've found a place to stay that has all the clean water and food we could need.'

'What? You're heading back, aren't you? To Vegas? The Boneyard? Where?'

'No, we're staying in Virginia, but I'm not telling you where.'

'Why not?'

'Because I don't want you to follow me, and I don't think the tenants of where we're staying want too many people knowing about them.'

'How can you do this to me? You're leaving me behind with those prejudiced, tech-crazy idiots to go slink off in some cosy little settlement where you can keep yourself hidden away, while the rest of the wasteland suffers?'

'Madison, I'm so sorry, but you have to understand that I have to do this for the sake of my child,' said James. He went over to her to hold her, but she pushed him away angrily.

'Get away from me! I don't ever want to see you again!' she yelled, and then she ran off down the hallway. James sighed mournfully and then returned to his daughter.

* * *

Cross was completely ready to leave. She had got a new power helmet for the one that was destroyed beforehand, her rifle was fully charged and she'd packed supplies for the day trip out to Springvale. She was just waiting on James to finish saying his goodbyes to the Project Purity staff, who was just shaking hands with Willy's assistant Roger. After a brief conversation, he walked over to her and signalled his readiness to leave.

'Do you know where we're going?' he asked her.

'Yes, we want to follow the river up to Farragut West, which we then have to cross and we should reach a Super Duper Mart. Then we head west for a while, and we should see it just down the road from Megaton. Shouldn't be too long, an hour or two, if there aren't too many super mutants. We won't be any later than nine or so.'

'We should get going. I'd like to have some time in Megaton to prepare.'

'Prepare?'

'Well, I imagine this Overseer is going to interview me. UCB did, and I was paying them. This man is letting me into the only safe shelter in the wasteland: I think he'd want to get a sense of my character to make sure I wasn't the raider-type.'

'Relax, you'll do fine. Now let's get out there.'

James gave one final wave to the congregation of scientists and Brotherhood members, and then he and Cross headed north, across the bridge and down the riverside road which led to Farragut West.

D.C., before the super mutants, was actually quite habitable compared with the rest of the post-war United States, even more so than California. Thanks to the affluent citizens and large urban settlements that so dotted the city, D.C. had a huge thriving community. Also, the distinct lack of threatening creatures in the city (with the worst to contend with being a Mirelurk, which could be killed for very healthy meat) allowed areas like Georgetown and the Mall to thrive as huge post-war settlements. Water, much less of an issue in California or Nevada, though filthy and irradiated, was still not a massive problem, as the safety of the D.C. ruins meant that mass scavenging and jury rigging of old parts for water purifiers was not difficult for the settlers. That all ended when the super mutants started their raids.

The first mutants began attacking in the 2180s and 90s. They had been in the wasteland for a good century beforehand, but they had been hesitant to venture far from Vault 87, and the raider gangs, once significantly larger and more powerful, provided ample recruits for the mutants. Soon they were whittled down into petty and weak opportunists, meaning the Super Mutants had to start looking for healthier, stronger and more populous settlements. The spread eastward was a slow process, with outposts at Germantown being a remnant of those earlier expansions. Though the mutants had great success in some areas, razing a large settlement of people in the previously untouched Springvale, they were unable to penetrate the large population centres of humans (Georgetown and a settlement in the Capitol Building). The reason for their failures was disorganization mostly, the settlers had efficient defences, both robotic and human, which organized effectively, and the Capitol settlement also co-opted the ghouls of the Underworld to help fight the mutants.

However, in 2203 Mos, a relatively young super mutant, took control of the mutant forces of Vault 87. He quickly created a ranking system, a military infrastructure, a communications network and an honour culture in order to keep super mutants docile, obedient and willing to fight to the death. It was Mos who orchestrated the mutant colonization of D.C. through the use of the metro tunnels, which allowed a huge amount of super mutants to launch a surprise attack on Georgetown, which led to a complete takeover of the settlement in a matter of hours, and several thousand new mutant recruits. As for the Mall, Mos agreed a peace with the ghouls, and then, using munitions from the National Guard Depot, cratered the land in and around the Mall, thus the mutants could easily advance on the Capitol Building without suffering heavy fire from the settlers. Soon, the Capitol fell too, and Mos' army now numbered 50,000. By 2207 they had established near complete dominion over downtown D.C., with the majority of surviving humans hiding in underground bunkers dotted around the city.

Now, 50 years on, the super mutants were very comfortable with their empire, and Cross and James could see that by the sparseness of their patrols. Most mutants were concentrated around the areas that they hadn't captured yet, such as the Jefferson Memorial, or in the former humans, enjoying all the luxuries they brought. Only the lowliest and most inexperienced mutants were relegated to patrol duty around D.C.'s hinterlands: they had seen one super mutant and centaur sitting near the Anchorage Memorial, who didn't even bother to attack. The rabble of the low ranking mutants tended to value their lives much more than Mos would like, and the braver (or more suicidal) got fast tracked for promotions. But, even with the Brotherhood on seen, there was very little threatening the super mutants, so opportunities to show bravery were so scarce, that junior mutants often got promoted eventually due to time served. Cross and James walked past the super mutant patrol, who, as previously stated, didn't raise his rifle. In fact, apart from a brief and half-hearted snarl, he barely acknowledged them at all, rather remained focused on a stick he seemed to be fashioning. Once Cross and James had got a few hundred yards away, they turned just in time to see what he'd been doing. The mutant stood up and threw his stick into a pool near the memorial, and his centaur rushed to it and grabbed it with his tongue. The mutant then guffawed like an appeased child and clapped as the centaur waddled back.

'Even muties play fetch,' muttered Cross, who then motioned to James to take point. They weren't far now, soon she could get out of her clunky armour and have a drink in Megaton.

* * *

'Welcome pansies, commies and other anti-Americans. This here is Megaton, the last slice of America the world has to offer. We accept all newcomers, but please remember, we don't tolerate anti-American values here! Also remember: the bomb is perfectly safe, we promise. Now, identify yourselves,' barked a bellicose Mr. Gutsy, plasma weapon at the ready.

'Knight Sergeant Florence H. Cross, Brotherhood of Steel. And this is James Burton, NCR.'

'Scanning for verification. Please stand by. Ah, yes. You contacted the Sheriff last night to notify them of your arrival. Welcome to Megaton, please stand clear of the gate…have a nice day.' The robot adopted a more conciliatory position and moved to the left. Behind him, two aeroplane wings rose from the ground, revealing a sheet metal gate. Cross led James through the threshold into the city of Megaton. At the door, a short man in his early thirties, smoking (presumably) a bit of crystal out of a pipe, walked up to greet them.

'Colin Moriarty, owner and proprietor of Moriarty's Saloon, at your service. Sorry that the Sheriff isn't here to meet you, he's out fighting raiders, so I'm the welcoming committee.'

'Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Moriarty, I'm James, this is Knight Sergeant Cross and this little one is Pantea.'

'What a beautiful little baby. I don't mean to tell you how to do your jobs, but Ms. Cross, your daughter will have trouble getting milk from those metal tit covers…'

'I'm not Pantea's mother, she is no longer with us.'

'Oh, I am truly sorry. I lost my mother at a young age too. Well, for that, you can have a 5% discount on the room. An even 200 caps: that covers two nights with Hannah and a small minibar.'

'What?'

'Oh yes, Moriarty's might be a bit more expensive than other hotels, but we provide extra benefits; the minibar is fully stocked with liquors from all over Virginia, and Hannah, well, she speaks for herself. You have to see her to believe it.'

'I'm…not in the market for a prostitute thank you,' said James.

'You haven't seen her yet! When you do, you'll change your mind instantly. The tits on that girl, enough to turn stone into butter.'

'I'm sure I won't be needing her services, thank you.'

'Well if you insist. That means the room is only 150 caps for the two nights then.'

'Wait, you only pay her 25 caps per day?'

'Pay her?! Good God above, no man. That's revenue, her profit is a good five caps per person.'

'Five caps? That's far too low for such a high risk profession.'

'We have an understanding, Hannah and me. Now, I'd appreciate it if you got the fuck out of my business, and just paid me for your room. Caps please.' James scowled at the man, and then fumbled in his bag for them. Pulling out 150 caps, he shoved them on the man, who smiled when looking at them.

'Sunset Sarsaparilla? Hey, as long as it goes on bottles. Follow me, I'll give you tour of the town.' Moriarty took another puff from his pipe and led the two up a scrap metal incline to the left of the entrance. 'This here is the residential area, it's where most of our permanent residents live. If you'll follow me up here you can see, next to that bus, there's a large building, which houses residents currently applying for citizenship.' He then led them past the aforementioned bus and Common House. 'And here we are: the centre of town, my saloon. The rest of the town really isn't worth visiting, here all your needs shall be catered for. Food, drink, poon, what else could you want? Now, I have some business to attend to, just head on inside and my trusty barkeep Hartwell will set you up.'

'Thank you Colin.'

'I'll be on my way. Bye!' He sauntered off toward the pit in the centre of the town, where a huge nuclear weapon sat in a pool of radioactive waste.

'His accent is really going to annoy me,' said Cross. 'What is it supposed to be? Irish?'

'Something like that, it's clearly a fake one. Come on, let's go get a drink.'

The bar was a musty, wasteland joint. Despite the time, 0923, it was full of happy customers, most of whom were piss drunk and unconscious. Upstairs, various bedrooms (backed by a soundtrack of hardworking prostitutes) stood locked away. On the ground floor were a few tables, a toilet, a back room hidden away and a prominent bar with some Nuka-Cola bar stools surrounding it. By the wall stood a very beautiful, scantily clad girl, who was staring intently at a Big Book of Science. Behind the bar was a short, relatively old man with graying hair and a pre-war style outfit. He looked up from the surface of the bar to see the power armoured and baby laden figures at the door.

'You must be James and the Brotherhood of Steel person. I'm Hartwell, the bartender, and she,' he pointed to the girl, 'is Hannah, hotel manager.'

'Hey,' she said, not looking up from her book.

'You work for Moriarty at this place?'

'Yes, doesn't seem like my kind of environment, I know, but I owe Moriarty a great deal of money, and my skills as a chemist allow me to brew a lot of unique alcohols that earn him a lot of money. Now, can I interest you in a drink?'

'I'll take a scotch if you have any.'

'It will cost you extra if you want actual scotch made in Scotland, 15 caps for a glass. And you, in the power armour, do you want anything?'

'A Nuka-Cola.'

'Eight caps please. Hannah, please show these people to their rooms.'

'Got it,' she said, folding the corner of her page. 'It's right up here, follow me.' She led them up the stairs to the only unlocked bedroom.

'Right, this is your room James. If you want my services, no anal, nothing without condoms and no cameras.'

'Oh…uh I told Moriarty that I wouldn't be needing your services, thank you.'

'Okay,' she shrugged, 'What about you, Brotherhood girl? I'm less experienced with women but if you're willing to pay…'

'That won't be necessary, just the room for now thanks.'

'Alright, just down here.' She led Cross down to the end room, where various sex noises could be heard. Hannah knocked on the door and yelled,

'Charlie, finish up in there, the Brotherhood girl is here.'

'Alright, I'll get out,' said a muffled voice. 'Okay dude, time's up.'

'What? I paid for a full hour; that was only forty minutes!'

'Most of which you spent 'recovering'. If you lasted longer than 60 seconds and could keep it up for longer, maybe you'd have had more fun.'

'That doesn't change the fact I am 20 minutes short.'

'Listen, I'll come around to the Water Plant this evening and I'll finish you off. I'll even throw in an extra ten minutes.'

Hannah turned to Cross, 'Whoring. 20% fucking, 5% drug use, 75% negotiation,' she said sombrely. 'All for five caps per half hour, three of which go on room and debt to Moriarty. It's a fantastic existence really. Hey, Charlie, hurry the fuck up!'

'Alright, alright!' she yelled through the door. A forty something man walked out, with an angry snarl on his face.

'Walter the handyman. Always nice to see you.'

'I can't say the same. I scrounge as much as I can from selling water to the settlers for your exorbitant price rates, and I don't even get the full service!'

'Charlie is our cheapest one, 40 caps an hour. You can't handle 40 caps an hour, when you charge starving wastelanders 20 caps for a bottle of water?'

'I have to pay overhead for the water plant, scrap metal isn't cheap.'

'Maybe if you did business with the ghouls in Underworld, who have a surplus of metal from the museum, you'd have so more money to spend. You have to pay the price of racism, now get outta here, you fucking snake! Charlie, get downstairs and help Hartwell at the bar.' They both shuffled off past the two women, Walter fuming with anger.

'Sorry about that. Right here's your room, if you need anything, just holler. But unless you want a handjob I'm not good for much.'

'Uh…thanks Hannah, I guess.'

'Right, back to science,' she said, and wandered out of the room and back downstairs. Across the hall, James had taken off his boots and was sitting on the double bedspread. Despite the vomiting patrons, loud sex in the neighbouring rooms and the radio downstairs blaring some violin music throughout the building, James could only hear the quiet noises of his baby squirming next to him on the bed. He picked her up and cradled her in his arms.

'Well, girl, we've just got a few hours and then we'll be safe, tucked away and happy. Just like your mother and I always wanted.'

* * *

'I don't know about this sir, trading with wasters is one thing, but absorbing them?'

'This is no ordinary waster, this is a proper doctor, which we definitely need. And he's also a man, hopefully he'll be willing to have more children. We need all the help we can get.'

'This guy could be a raider or a slaver or something else bad, maybe we shouldn't take the risk.'

'Paul, we don't have a doctor. I'll be damned if I'm letting my wife here give birth with that damn Mr. Handy. Now keep watch out here, that elementary school is a raider den. This meeting needs to go smoothly. How are you honey?'

'I'm fine, the sun is really nice today, actually. I'm very excited to meet this James person, maybe his daughter could make friends with our little one, when she deigns to meet us all.'

'That would be nice, what would that be? A good four girls for the year 2258. Hey, is that them? Paul, check you binoculars.'

'I see power armour, yes that's them! Hey, over here!' Hannon yelled at them. The two figures who were by the petrol station jogged over to where the vault mission was, in a ruined house in Springvale a few hundred yards away from Vault 101's entrance cave.

'I see three people…were we meant to see three people?'

'Probably associated staff, don't worry Florence, we'll be fine,' said James, though a knot in his stomach disagreed. He put his left hand on the handle of his revolver stuffed in the back of his trousers as he walked toward the trio, and raised his right ready for shaking.

'James, so good of you to arrive,' Alphonse said, shaking his hand, 'This is Security Chief Paul Hannon and Miriam Almodovar, Supervisor Chief and my lovely wife.'

'Enchanté,' she smiled at James, shaking his hand. Hannon shook Cross' hand and then James', before probing them with the first question.

'So, how did you come to discover our Vault, and does anyone else know about it?'

'We have a Vault-Tec computer in the Citadel, our base,' Cross responded, 'and it said your vault was still using power. We went to Vault-Tec headquarters and made contact with your overseer, and no, we haven't told anyone else.'

'What about the people in, what, California? You came from there, are there any more?'

'Well, yes there are many people in California, but aside from the Brotherhood, my late wife and myself, no one else has come from there. NCR is a safe place; there is little reason for people to leave.'

'NCR?' Alphonse butted in.

'The New Californian Republic, stretching from Baja to New Vegas…well Vegas is a bit of a gray area but it will be NCR territory soon. It's a blurred reflection of the pre-war world, they have water, food, industry, even cars, though most people use horses.'

'If NCR is so amazing, why did you leave?' Hannon asked.

'A variety of reasons. A group of raiders have been savaging the southeast, so the economy is down, and believe it or not doctors are not in high demand over there, except around Vegas but that area is far too dangerous, at least I thought it was until I made it here. Also, Catherine wanted to change the world, and NCR being in a state of relative opulence, it made sense to head east.'

'Why D.C.?'

'The northern U.S. was either empty or full of raiders. With a few exceptions, such as Boise and Chicago, D.C. is the only major population centre between here and NCR. We could have taken the south route, no doubt there is at least some civilization in Boston or New York, and we know of a whole country in Arkansas, but those raiders I mentioned control the whole of Arizona, which we'd have to pass through, and these raiders are not to be trifled with.'

'See Paul? Not a raider, not one of the crazies from wastes, just a Californian idealist,' smiled Alphonse.

'That reminds me,' said Miriam, 'Alphonse said that you went to college?'

'That's right, what was University College Los Angeles. It's not the only university there, but it is the best one.'

'That's amazing. The vault doesn't have a further education system, only apprenticeship type things…but a university educated professional…well we could really use someone like that.'

'Yes, your job, where do your skills in medicine lie?' asked Alphonse.

'Uh…I can do most doctor-related things, I know my way around anaesthesia and I can identify most common wasteland diseases.'

'Uh-huh. What about obstetrics?'

'I did a one year course on the subject. I know gynaecology, and I have delivered two babies, through caesarean section. It's not amazing, but it's something, and I'm sure I'd be able to help your wife here with her baby.'

'Oh that's wonderful! Did you hear that, Miriam?'

'I did honey, thank God Andy won't have an excuse to slash my stomach with that sawblade of his! Hey, is that your daughter? Should you really strap her to the back of metal armour like that?'

'Oh, she'll be fine. We do that all the time, do you want to see her?' asked James.

'I'd love too!' responded Miriam. James undid the leather straps on the back of the power armour and carried the little baby to her. Miriam took the baby in her arms and started singing to her, which seemed to anger her to the point of tears. 'Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, I don't know what I did…' she passed the bawling baby back to James, who smiled at Miriam's apologies; 'Relax, babies are like that, it's not your fault.'

'Alright James, give us a moment to talk,' said Hannon, and he called the other two into a huddle. 'Well, what do you think?' he whispered.

'I like him a lot, and we need a doctor, and a university graduate could easily serve as a substitute teacher.'

'I agree honey, you giving birth without a doctor is something we cannot risk. I say we take them in. Paul? Are we agreed?'

'Hmph. It wouldn't matter if I disagreed anyway, but I can't see any problem with this James character coming into the vault. So, yes we are.'

'Excellent,' said Alphonse, 'James! After much deliberation, we've decided to let you and your daughter into the vault as our head doctor.'

'Really? Are you serious? You're not screwing with me are you?'

'Much as it surprises me, no we're not,' said Hannon, 'Tomorrow morning, I and the Overseer will meet you here again and escort you into the vault. 4.30 sharp. You can bring up to one bag of luggage in addition to what you can carry on your person, but we will be forced to confiscate any and all weapons you have. We'll give you a few days to settle in, then you will begin your role as the Vault doctor. Do you have any questions?'

'Uh…no, just…thank you so much! I can't believe it, my daughter can really have a future.' James roped all present into a teary embrace, which caused even Hannon to smile. The beating wasteland sun and sands seemed to stop to watch this exchange. For James, the world had stopped: after days of hell, an eternal heaven had finally come for him and his daughter.

 _ **A/N: So, James is safe in the vault, but will the idyllic lifestyle continue? (hint: no). I'll be back soon (:**_


End file.
